Is it a real sword or a fantasy??

[Kubur]

Is it a real sword or a fantasy??
Like a cleaver / pala... should be a fantasy...

[drac2k]

First, let me say that it is a very cool piece. I think it is a fantasy sword, if for no other reason than the finger loop is above the guard instead of below it, which kind of defeats the purpose of the guard.

[Roland_M]

Originally Posted by Kubur

Is it a real sword or a fantasy??
Like a cleaver / pala... should be a fantasy...

The strange yelman and the curious point give enough clues to say: modern fantasy sword.

Best wishes,
Roland

[Oliver Pinchot]

Would it be possible to see detailed pics?

[ariel]

At first glance, my reaction is " Far too elaborate for a "fantasy".
A ring outside the crossguard doesn't bother me very much: European ( German, Polish etc) swords had a similar feature on the side.
Intriguing....

[Tim Simmons]

I second that. Better pics would help. The ring is in the right place under the back of the sword. it would very hard indeed for an opponent to severe the finger.

[Oliver Pinchot]

I asked because it shows Spanish Colonial, Ottoman and Moroccan characteristics which could well have been conflated in a latter 19th century Moroccan environment.

[Battara]

Although it looks fantasy to me, the ring could be in the right place depending one how you would hold it. Some Spanish swords have a ring in this same place, which does also make me think Spain as well.

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by Battara

Although it looks fantasy to me, the ring could be in the right place depending one how you would hold it. Some Spanish swords have a ring in this same place, which does also make me think Spain as well.

so, in spanish, it's an espada ancha

many early european swords/rapiers were held with a finger over the crossguard protected by a loop, some less protective than this one.

looks like a nice hunting bone chopper, part of a gamekeeper's trousse? dressing a deer can get slippery, a ring would help. ditto if dismembering a human. would make a nice side-arm. i note it hangs edge up in it's scabbard. (fernando cross posted at the same time i edited this -GMTA )

[fernando]

If it is not a fantasy, it certainly is a whimsy weapon.
Note the scabbard suspension rings on the convex side ... Shaska style ?

[mross]

Can you tell if it's forged or stock removal? My first guess is forged but can't tell for sure.

[kronckew]

i had been thinkling of some rather fanciful german troussen like these:

[broadaxe]

"Fantasy" is not necessarily a bad word. There is a huge market for modern well-made custom swords, outside the circles of ethnographic weapons. This one appears to be such a sword, it was probably pretty costly as new.

[machinist]

Originally Posted by fernando

Note the scabbard suspension rings on the convex side ... Shaska style ?

This struck me also, looking at some features, especially in the construction of the scabbard I think that this being made by one of the modern Caucasus swordsmiths whose lovely work is often passed on ebay as vintage may be added to the possibilities. Their work is usually traditional but some will make whatever sells.
If it had a lot of niello I would be more certain

[Roland_M]

Originally Posted by Kubur

Is it a real sword or a fantasy??
Like a cleaver / pala... should be a fantasy...

Hello,

I was sure, that I already have seen the point of this sword. It took some hours but now I know where. It is the point of a European medieval cleaver or falchion, see the picture.
I know this point from the "Mount and Blade" game, it's one of the most powerful weapons.
So the point of your sword seems to be inspired by a very old European type.

best wishes,
Roland

[David R]

Certainly a "bespoke" piece. I would be happy to own it whatever the date it was made.

[ariel]

Roland,
Bizarre blades from Maciejowski Bible serve as an inspiration for scores of "Hobbit" fans. But all actual examples of their bladesmithing I've seen can not bite ankles of this puppy's sophistication.

Only the actual owner of this masterpiece can assess the age.
IMHO, it might be cheaper to buy a wootz Shamshir than to order an identical copy.

[David]

I've been watching this thread with great interest hoping someone came up with a good answer here.
I will say, just from my own perspective (and this is certainly just semantics on y part) that i would not call this a "fantasy sword". When i do think about "fantasy" blades what springs to mind are cheap, mass produced blades that generally are made at best from 420 steel and are inspired mostly from movies and video games. This, on the other hand, seems to be a hand forged (perhaps) one-off piece that involves some refined level of craft and while exotic it is hardly over the top in its design. Probably a contemporary piece, but a lovely one at that.
Keep digging gentleman and perhaps we will find some interesting answers.
BTW Kubur, where did you source this photo from?

[fernando]

In my humble perspective, whether you call it a decorative, a fantasy, an exotic or even a bespoke piece, it certainly wasn't forged to be a 'real sword'. Inspired on whatever original to serve as its muse, it could have less of that than in its autor giving wings to his imagination; resulting more in an object than in a serious weapon.
But then, as se say in my whereabouts, you don't discuss tastes .

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by David

BTW Kubur, where did you source this photo from?

I really don't know, just picked up on google.
I don't even know if it's a photo... It might be a very well done 3d model for a video game... Nowadays it's difficult to make the difference...
A lot of things are unrealistic such as the suspension rings and the guard...

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Kubur

I really don't know, just picked up on google.
I don't even know if it's a photo... It might be a very well done 3d model for a video game... Nowadays it's difficult to make the difference...
A lot of things are unrealistic such as the suspension rings and the guard...

So ...

[fernando]

This is how you would have to hang this thing from your waist; a bit unhandy, i guess ...


.

[mross]

Still can't tell if forged or stock removal, if not in hand somewhere we will never know, but not really relevant for real vs fantasy. I was just curious. What I do find relevant is that bump on the spine to me would preclude being able to draw the blade quickly. So unless the user is carrying it around in hand all the time, they would tend to have a very short life expectancy.

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by mross

...I was just curious. What I do find relevant is that bump on the spine to me would preclude being able to draw the blade quickly. So unless the user is carrying it around in hand all the time, they would tend to have a very short life expectancy.

it's much like a langeseax, and may be was intended to be worn in the small of your back & edge up. wonder if the side is open from the bump to the throat to make up for the bump. the finger ring would help to haul it out.

[Ian]

The lighting and shadows cast by the two items in the subject of this thread look very odd and inconsistent. It does not look like a real photograph to me.

Ian.

[machinist]

Found it http://astalo.deviantart.com/art/My-precious-281649270 An artist on Deviant Art made it for himself supposedly. Ians comment made me curious and I was sure he was right and we were all fooled so I did a reverse google image search and this piece has appeared on seemingly thousands of sites mostly about gamers and zomby apocalypses

Looking at his gallery is jawdropping http://ugo-serrano.deviantart.com/gallery/

[Tim Simmons]

At least we did ask for better pictures before any verdict.

[fernando]

Originally Posted by machinist

... and we were all fooled ...

Make it a figure of speech .

[ariel]

I do not think we were fooled: the issue was not about quality , but rather of style and age. Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Dali come to mind:-)

[David]

Originally Posted by machinist

Found it http://astalo.deviantart.com/art/My-precious-281649270 An artist on Deviant Art made it for himself supposedly. Ians comment made me curious and I was sure he was right and we were all fooled so I did a reverse google image search and this piece has appeared on seemingly thousands of sites mostly about gamers and zomby apocalypses

Looking at his gallery is jawdropping http://ugo-serrano.deviantart.com/gallery/

Great work. Which reverse image search did you use? When i used tineye.com i came up with a bunch of the zombie gamers, but couldn't find the source image.
No offense to Ian here, but apparently he was not right since it does seem this is indeed an actual photograph of an actual sword. I believe most of us were fairly certain this was a modern piece using past influences which does now seem to be the case. This guy is a rather talented contemporary metal smith with a flair for ancient styles. Pretty fantastic really, though obviously not what we do here.